Why do certain items become vintage and others just dated?

catgirl

I have often pondered this with cars, and now I'm thinking about clothing. I'm pretty sure our Subaru Forester will never be a fab classic vintage car like a '57 Chevy. Do you think the '57 Chevy was a classic the moment it came out? What's today's equivalent? Do you just know it when you see it?

Same with clothing. Why is my weird space-dyed 70s coat able to fit into the 70s comeback, while other 70s items could not be brought up to modern trend standards? Do certain brands just have more longevity, like DVF or Chanel?

I know I've asked something similar before, but as I go through my closet to purge, and find old items that miraculously now work again, I'm wondering how get rid of pieces that could make a comeback?

I'll come up with some examples, but would love to hear thoughts!

15 years ago

General

4 replies

Latest reply was from yardshark

RoseandJoan

Veteran

I think vintage only really works when it taps into a modern trend so feels relevant. This vintage jacket is just so now that I am just aching to shrink a size or three http://www.etsy.com/listing/65.....D=clothing

As with cars my former boss drove this car only in cream with coffee coloured seats
http://www.bing.com/images/sea.....t=1969+MGb
think it looks deliciously retro and glamorous partly because this shape is still familiar and relevant like this Aston Martin DB7
http://www.bing.com/images/sea.....8;qpvt=DB7

15 years ago

Christie

Active Member

First, I think quality materials and tailoring (or construction, as in the example of the car) have a lot to do with it. So not only did the piece stand the test of time in looks, it also truly stood the test of time! In clothes, I think this often means real fabrics like wool, cashmere, silk, and even cotton. Secondly, the design has to be exceptional. I would have said simple design, except the car example or a bold patterned dress shows that to be untrue.

15 years ago

Deb

Active Member

Good question!

It seems to me, mulling it over, that just about all retro looks that cycle back to high fashion eventually dip into the less attractive styles of the period.

Using the 70s example: some of the first recycled looks were pretty and appealing - interpreted in fresh ways the boho/latter-day hippie look of flowing skirts and belted peasant tops, the platform sandals, tie-dye, headbands, crocheted caps were not only fashion in the 70s, but they were icons of an era - grassroots movements captured and raised to new heights by designers. However, what I've seen coming in for Spring 2011 are influences which, to me, did not and do not define the 70s era.

Having exhausted the high points of 70s style, designers seem to be scraping a little deeper into the barrel to carry on the 70s theme - but what they're producing are, for me, replicas of the second-string, B-list clothing performers of the period. Seriously ... banded-bottom tops? Dolman sleeves? Are these ever silhouettes that come to mind when one reminisces on the decade?

Reading your original question again, I realize that my ramblings may have veered away from what you've asked. I think it was by way of saying - hang onto those pieces you think won't make a comeback ... in another year or two you may be rocking the retro big time!

15 years ago

yardshark

Active Member

Hmm...banded tops and dolman sleeves weren't what I'd call 70s though, but early 80s. Which is close, and of course, styles don't just automatically change drastically on the dot at the turn of a decade, but in the case of 70s/80s I think the feel really did change with the influence of disco. Things went from earth tones/matte to jewel tones/satin and sparkle in a jiff.

This 2011 thing where we're getting whiffs of the 80s and the 70s at once is going to confuse people who didn't go through the real things the first time, but also, it just feels so random to me. Why are these things trending now? I could imagine that they could symbolize the polarization of the US into conservative and liberal camps, but fashion is international and I kinda doubt that's what designers had in mind. But what they did have in mind? I have no clue!

15 years ago

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